Michael Goodwin in the New York Daily News:Not long ago, after a string of especially bad days for the Obama administration, a veteran Democratic pol approached me with a pained look on his face and asked, "Do you think they know what they're doing?"
The question caught me off guard because the man is a well-known Obama supporter. As we talked, I quickly realized his asking suggested his own considerable doubts.
Yes, it's early, but an eerily familiar feeling is spreading across party lines and seeping into the national conversation. It's a nagging doubt about the competency of the White House...
Polls show that most people like Obama, but they increasingly don't like his policies. The vast spending hikes and plans for more are provoking the most concern, with 82% telling a Gallup survey they are worried about the deficit and 69% worried about the rapid growth of government under Obama. Most expect their own taxes will go up as a result, despite the President's promises to the contrary.
None other than Warren Buffet, an Obama supporter, has called the administration's message on the economy "muddled." Even China says it is worried about its investments in American Treasury bonds. Ouch...
His promises and policies contradict each other often enough that evidence of hypocrisy is ceasing to be news. Remember the pledges about bipartisanship and high ethics? They're so last year.
The beat goes on. Last week, Obama brazenly gave a speech about earmark reform just after he quietly signed a $410 billion spending bill that had about 9,000 earmarks in it. He denounced Bush's habit of disregarding pieces of laws he didn't like, so-called signing statements, then issued one himself.
And in an absolute jaw-dropper, he told business leaders, "I don't like the idea of spending more government money, nor am I interested in expanding government's role."
No wonder Americans are confused. Our President is, too.
Bill Low in the Dallas/Ft.Worth Star-Telegram:
...In the big scheme of things, the mistakes made by President Barack Obama thus far are relatively minor, but they are forming a pattern that shows serious weakness. It is a weakness that may be interpreted by our friends and our enemies as indicative of a flaw they can use to their own advantage.
We know about the appointment exceptions made for lobbyists and tax dodgers that culminated with the withdrawal of Sen. Tom Daschle, who was both a lobbyist and a tax dodger.
When control over the drafting of the stimulus bill was surrendered to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it was another indication of presidential weakness.
When he was out-foxed by the then-governor of Illinois, people were amazed that the leader of the free world was so easily manipulated by a discredited politician standing on the precipice of an indictment. American presidents are supposed to be strong and firm but Gov. Rod Blagojevich made him look weak.
Obama made an amateurish mistake with his handling of the budget and yet another with the letter he sent to the Russians.
He just signed a spending bill loaded with pork and almost 9,000 earmark projects that he pledged not to do.
All of these errors share a common thread.
It is painfully obvious that Obama is yielding to old-style political demands when the country is expecting real leadership.
First-term presidents never get too far away from their political tool kit, but as a candidate, Sen. Obama was uniquely successful with his pledge to eliminate "business as usual" if elected. He forged a special bond of trust with a huge number of voters who saw him as a genuine agent of "change we can believe in."
President Obama is now retreating from that pledge, and "business as usual" is seen as a serious weakness because of the voter backlash it will inevitably generate.
That backlash could ultimately render the Obama presidency impotent.
The predators of the world are already beginning to evaluate their options.
And, gasp -- even David Broder in the Washington Post:
...Meantime, on the main challenge -- the economy -- the criticism has begun to infect the mainstream media as well as the conservative wing. I was struck last week to read heartfelt pleas to Obama from my Post colleague David Ignatius and David Brooks of the New York Times to get his priorities straight and concentrate on the crucial task of rescuing banking, credit, housing and jobs.
These are people who deeply admire and respect Obama and wish him nothing but success. But, like some thoughtful congressional Democrats with whom I have spoken, they worry that he has bitten off more than he can chew.
Criticism of this kind is not an augury of failure. But it does signal that the honeymoon is over.
